USTR Releases Annual Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Rights “The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). Fighting IPR theft in overseas markets is critical to the livelihoods of the estimated 18 […]
James Donald Smith Named Chief Administrative Patent Judge at USPTO Smith to lead Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences effective May 8, 2011 Washington – James Donald Smith of Chicago, Ill. has been appointed to serve as the next Chief Administrative Patent Judge of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) at the U.S. […]
FTC Proposes Innovation and Reform Ideas that Benefit Consumers The Federal Trade Commission has prepared a report The Evolving IP Marketplace: Aligning Patent Notice and Remedies with Competition, highlighting concerns and providing solutions to assist in the redefinition of the U.S. Patent system where innovation will benefit consumers. The report presents its objectives for two […]
World Intellectual Property Day Today the intellectual property practitioners around the globe will be celebrating World Intellectual Property Day. The goals of World Intellectual Property Day are to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks, and designs impact daily life. It is a celebration of the innovation and creativity of the world’s entrepreneurs, whose contributions […]
Expedited Examination of Green Patent Applications at the Canadian Patent Office The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has amended their patent rules on March 3rd allowing for an accelerated examination of ‘green’ technology patents without additional fee. Effective April 30th, some current applicants will have to exercise certain rights to preserve their accelerated examination status. […]
USPTO Budget Cuts for 2011 Today USPTO Director David Kappos announced what the impact that the budget reduction will have at the Patent Office. There are a number of important areas where the USPTO will no longer be able to strive for this year. Track One, the Fast-track patent processing system that allows inventors and […]
Ongoing Struggle for a Simple European Patent System The proposed unified Patent System across Europe would have the potential to provide major reductions in intellectual property spending. By applying for a patent that would be granted across the proposed multi-nation bloc, companies would be able to drastically reduce time and overall spend on securing intellectual […]
Fast-Track Patent Processing Coming in May The USPTO announced late last week an accelerated patent processing system that will be officially launched on May 4th. The Fast-track patent processing sytsem called Track One with allow inventor and business to have their patents processed within 12 months. “Track One provides a comprehensive, flexible patent application processing […]
Hiring Patent Illustrators and Project Managers? Test for Drawing Ability You wouldn’t hire a pilot without ensuring he or she know how to fly a plane would you? How can a hard working patent illustration company better serve its clients and their clients? It can sometimes come down to hiring people with that inborn ability […]
Judge Invalidates Human Gene Patent A federal judge in Manhattan has stirred up the Intellectual Property community and specifically the biotech industry with a decision invalidating two patents on human genes relating to breast and ovarian cancer. This decision has the potential for far-reaching effects on thousands of gene based patents, since approximately 20% of […]